Mental illness, research

Although marijuana may not be linked to severe mental illness, research begun in the 1960s has suggested that marijuana can cause subtle psychological damage, particularly to adolescents. Studies have consistently shown that adolescents with psychological and behavioral problems are more likely... 

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA e-mail dwtl u.washington.edu... 

Microarray technology finds application in disease diagnosis by providing information on the genetic basis to diseases. For such diseases as diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and mental illnesses, research has shown that certain genetic sequences are associated with susceptibility to... 

NIMH (2005). Treatment Research in Mental Illness Improving the Nation s Public Mental Health Care through NIMH Funded Interventions Research. Report of the National Advisory Mental Health Council s Workgroup on Clinical Trials. Washington, D.C. 

Tsuang, M. T. and Faraone, S. V. The inheritance of mood disorders. In Genetics and Mental Illness. Evolving Issues for Research and Society. Ed. Hall L. L. New York Plenum Press, 1996, pp 79-109. 

In a related vein, researchers have argued that theory based taxonomies are needed for research to progress. Theory is obviously useful in making the taxonomy testable. Explicit theory based models of mental illnesses can be compared with one another to allow us to determine which model is more consistent with available data. Failure to specify a theory may limit the pace of scientific progress. 

A variety of kinds of evidence have linked emotional behavior to hormones. Two conditions, the menstrual cycle and menopause, have been the focus of a great deal of research on human behavior. In addition, gender differences in the prevalence of mental illnesses have been used as indirect evidence for possible hormonal effects on emotional disorders. For example, depression is more common in women than in men. In contrast, a pubertal onset of schizophrenia is more common in males than females (Hafner, et al., 1993), although the lifetime occurrence of schizophrenia is approximately equal in men and women (Seeman, 1996). Effects of hormones on emotional lability in men are described above in the context of aggression. 

Social and economic harms Some invasions of privacy or breaches of confidentiality could result in embarrassment with one s business or social group, loss of employment, or criminal prosecution. Confidential safeguards must be strong in these instances. Examples of these particular sensitivities include information about alcohol or drug abuse, mental illness, illegal activities, and sexual behavior. Participation in research may also result in additional costs to the participant. 

Over the years, I have received hundreds of reprint requests for my papers from physicians and others in American military installations. I have never yet received such a request from any military establishment outside the United States. Much of my research is concerned with the biochemical basis of mental deficiency and serious mental illnesses... 

The French physician, Jacques Joseph Moreau, remains the most-cited connection between cannabis and the art community. Moreau first used hashish while traveling through the Middle East in the 1830s. He assumed that cannabis-induced sensations might model the hallucinations and delusions common in psychotic individuals. He had hoped that this research might help the treatment of the mentally ill. The outspoken hedonist and popular novelist, Theophile Gautier assisted Moreau in this research. He not only participated himself, but he also recruited other members of Frances artistic community. This group of hedonists and experimenters met monthly in an old mansion in Paris which was known at the time as the Club Des Hachichins (Hashish Club). For historical reviews on cannabis, see Abel and Mechoulam. ... 

Table 17.1. In this context, mental retardation deserves special comment. Although most persons with mental retardation are not violent, there is an increased risk of inappropriate aggression among individuals with psychiatric diagnoses in general, including mental retardation. Most research on associations between violence and mental illness has focused on adults. To assess the relationship between aggressive behaviors and psychiatric disorders, it is useful to look at the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in those who have committed violent acts, and to examine the prevalence of violence in psychiatric patients in different settings.

Clinicians, families, patients, and policy makers can be faced with various questions about the pharmacological treatment of children and adolescents with mental illness. The following are some types of questions that are often formulated into research hypotheses for clinical trials ... 

These principles of collaboration are especially important in studies involving pediatric psychopharmacology, in part because the misunderstanding of pediatric mental illnesses and the concerns about medications, have created a climate of distrust and confusion. Direct and open communication between stakeholders and researchers is necessary to accomplish the goals of creating an ethical and valid scientific base. 

LeDoux, Joseph. Synaptic Self How Our Brains Become Who We Are. New York Penguin, 2003. LeDoux, a researcher at New York University, examines some of the most fundamental issues of brain science, such as consciousness. LeDoux is a fine writer, and included in the discussion is his interesting perspective on the biology and chemistry of mental illness. 

The gradual rediscovery of the medical model of mental illnesses, associated with research into pathological anatomical causes. 

A strong individual motivation on the part of the research workers involved and the conviction that mental illnesses could be treated by physical methods. 

A group of clinical researchers in New Hampshire, USA, who are highly experienced in the treatment of substance abuse in the severely mentally ill have identified certain key principles of management (Drake et al. 1993, 2001), which are shown in Table 7.4. They consider that a special approach is necessary because the severely mentally ill do not identify problems in the same way, they typically have difficulty with addiction treatment approaches such as group therapy, and there is an ever-present danger that this group fall between two sets of services. Their work is in a unit specifically for dual diagnosis patients. 

Kety SS, Rosenthal D, Wender PH, et al. The biologic and adoptive families of adopted individuals who became schizophrenic prevalence of mental illness and other characteristics. In Wynne LC, Cromwell RL, Matthysse S, eds. The nature of schizophrenia new approaches to research and treatment New York John Wiley Sons, 1978 25-37. 

In the earliest research with DET and the related dialkyltryptamines, the chemistry of metabolism was studied for any clues that could explain the activity of these materials. It must be remembered that this was in the heyday of the concept of psychotomimesis, the search for drugs that would imitate the psychotic state. What an appealing concept, that there might be a drug that could produce the syndrome of mental illness and thus be an accepted model for designing some treatment for it. There was a delicious search made at that time (the 1950 s) for names that could be given to these remarkable substances that would obscure any spiritual or positive aspects, so that one could present one s findings into the orthodox medical literature. 

QUALITATIVE COMMENTS In the case of LSD, it seems presumptuous to attempt to select typical comments for quotation. Literally thousands of reports are in the literature, from early exploratory research, to clinical applications for treatment of autism, of alcoholism, or mental illness, to assisting in psychotherapy and in the dying process, to the adventures of the military in both intelligence and chemical warfare, to innumerable anecdotal tales of pleasure and pain. Dozens of books have been devoted to these topics. 

Pauling, in recent years, researched the chemistry of the brain and mental illness, the cause of sickle-cell anemia, and the effects of large doses of Vitamin C on the common cold and on cancer. On August 19, 1994, Pauling, himself, died of cancer at the age of 93. 

The first phase, typically identified in the literature by the use of the adjective "psychotomimetic," was characterized by dominance of a priori, structured models. Seriously underestimating the effects that such preconceptions might have on the content and aftereffects of the subjective experience, researchers variously reported that psychedelics mimicked mental illness (when given in a setting that provoked it), illuminated Freudian theory (when administered by a com-... 

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